Wirename Writing Tips for running a business with your new found name making skill
General tips for wire work
Use the pliers as a vice rather than using them to twist the wire itself. Use the other hand to manipulate the wire.
Use the file to carefully remove any marks left by the pliers on the wire. This works with pure wire or alloys but not plated.
The first small letter after the capital determines the size of all the other letters following, make sure the first letter isn’t too large or small, because then the whole name will be either large or small – this really comes with practice and what you are making the name for – necklace, brooch or something else.
The spacing matters too, same applies – whatever space you have between your first two letters should remain constant wherever possible throughout the name. Generally, spacing should be slightly greater in smaller names (3, 4 or 5 letters) and reduced in long names (7,8,9 letters)
Any symbol can be made at the end of the name, I use a heart basically because I learned that from my teacher, but I have made treble clefs (music notes) and stars in the past, best to keep it simple if you are selling them though.
Buy a silver cloth if you are working with any type of silver wire, it is invaluablefor first using it when you straighten the wire prior to making the name, and when you have finished making the name it removes any marks or fingerprints.
Whenever a small letter I follows a letter with a loop above the baseline – eg: lower case l or f make the loop on the l or f very slim to make room for the letter i which is raised slightly above the rest of the lower case letters because of the dot.
Remember too that any other letters in the name with loops above the baseline should be slim also to match the l or the f.
When making a lower case n always make the spacing very small just before you make the letter n. When you complete the n you will see why, the spacing automatically widens due to the method used in making the n.
The underline on the names that I make are basically to strengthen the name to make it more robust. You can leave the underline off though if you wish and terminate the name just after you make the heart and loop it once around the upstroke of the wire just before you come to the heart. This works best with short names where the strength isn’t so important, but it can cause havoc on long names where they are easily bent out of shape without the underline.
In the past I have made name bracelets as there is a demand for them. I did drop the idea selling them though, as they require extra work. I didn’t find an easy way to stop them getting snagged on clothing and the people who bought them would lose them quickly. That is not to say there isn’t a method of making name bracelets (or anklets) from the wire they just need to be more robust somehow.
There are lots of applications for personalizing using the wire names. Here are a few I have come across:
- Name necklaces
- Name brooches (pins)
- Name tie pins
- Letter holders (made with thicker aluminum wire)
- Name Bracelets
- Name Anklets
- Name Earrings
- Names on cakes
- Names to personalize anything you can glue them to
- House names (made from thicker wire)
There are undoubtedly more applications – plenty of scope for the imagination !
If you are thinking of making the names for a living, make some for friends and family first to get their approval. Also in a situation where you are selling directly to the public you will need to make the name fairly quickly on a “while you wait” basis so you should get the time it takes to make the name down to at most 10
minutes.
To carry your business around with you, you can use a laptop bag or any similar sized bag and one of those plastic compartmented fishing trays. In my kit I carry most of the stuff needed to make names.
Here is a list of what I carry in my bag and which may help you also:
- 2 x long nosed pliers (one fine and one regular)
- A pair of snips or cutters
- A pair of scissors
- A 12 inch (30cm) ruler to measure chains
- Pens
- A Black Marker
- Silver cloth
- Sterling silver wire 1 mm dia, and 0.9 mm dia (for the jump rings),
- silver plated wire, gold fill wire
- Jump rings (the rings that attach the chain to the wire in necklaces)
- Sterling silver chains of different lengths
- Small pieces of black card to mount the name on
- Larger pieces of black card to protect the name in transit (when I post names)
- Re-sealable plastic bags to put the name in
- Stamps for postage
- Rectangular pieces of contact (cut from a big roll) to protect the address labels
- Sheets of address labels to print the sending and receiving addresses
If you want to sell your names at craft fairs or markets, the simplest way to display your wares is to construct a display unit from pin boards or cork boards. You can then mount these on a portable table of some kind. I used to use an artists easel, very light and portable.
Your setup at markets and fairs etc is typically very simple and requires a small space at the market or fair which is a great advantage rent wise. I used to fit easily into a 2 m space. Also you can rent a space with a friend as an alternative which helps with stuff like toilet breaks and getting food as they can look after your setup while you are away.
Over the years I had built up a large stock of popular names,. This helps enormously when you are selling in front of the public as it means you don’t have to make every name. I found roughly that I sold 50% of my names from stock and 50% making them on the spot. This means you double your takings. Names vary in popularity according to the country you are in, but you should be able to find a list on the net of say the top 50 or 100 names or more.
You can store your stock in plastic sealed bags which protects them from oxidizing. If exposed to the atmosphere they will tarnish over time and it is an arduous process to clean them. Always have a large float of change when you work at a market or fair – there’s nothing worse than running out and having to hassle your stall holder neighbors for change.
A money pouch or belt is the best to store your float in, it saves you
being separated from your money and the possibility of getting it stolen.
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If you decide to purchase, I really wish you the best of luck with this amazing skill that has seen me through all these years..
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All the best,
Cornelius
